Helmet stickers: Owls end season with two-game winning streak

• Running back Jeremy Eddington: Eddington scored the game-winning touchdown, his second of the game, on a 22-yard run with 44 seconds remaining to rally the Owls to a 28-23 victory. Considering he didn’t play most of the first six games, Eddington had an impressive freshman season. He scored a team-best 10 touchdowns — seven coming in the final three games. A good sign for the Owls looking to the future: With UAB showing different defensive looks, Eddington did not get rattled and remained patient until he found openings out of the Wildcat formation.

• Strong safety Chris Jones: The Owls’ pass defense has come under fire all season so it was nice to see Jones come up big in his final game. He had a pair of pass breakups, including one that saved a touchdown, made the fourth-down stop in the closing seconds to seal the victory. “His play was a big difference in the game,” coach David Bailiff said.

• Cornerback Phillip Gaines: Gaines had five tackles and a pass breakup and was clearly more aggressive against UAB, along with the Owls’ other defensive backs, than at any other time this season. “Phillip Gaines has made it where he doesn’t want anybody to catch the football,” Bailiff said. “He’s practicing as hard as he plays and that’s paying dividends for him.”

• Wide receiver Patrick Randolph: In his final game, the senior came up with several big catches. He had three in the fourth quarter during the Owls’ final two touchdown drives. On Rice’s 19-play, 83-yard drive, Randolph had catches of 19 and 17 yards. Bailiff called it Randolph’s “best game as a Rice Owl.”

• Tight end Vance McDonald: What else can you say about the talented McDonald? Quarterback Taylor McHargue calls him a “security blanket,” and in only a short time it’s clear the Rice quarterbacks have established a trust factor when it comes to crunch time. Imagine what this offense might have done with McDonald healthy for an entire season.

• Defensive coordinator Chuck Driesbach: It remains to be seen if Bailiff makes any changes to his coaching staff this offseason. The Owls have struggled on defense throughout the season, but finished with two solid performances against East Carolina and UAB. Driesbach’s unit allowed only two second-half touchdowns in the final two games. Against UAB, Rice held the Blazers to nine points and 157 yards total offense after halftime.